black belt

[blak belt]

noun

1. Martial Arts.

   1. a black cloth waistband conferred upon a participant in one of the martial arts, as judo or karate, to indicate a degree of expertise of the highest rank.

   2. a person who has obtained such rank

   3. the rank itself.

2. a person proficient in some particular skill or endeavor; expert.

3. (initial capital letters),  a narrow belt of dark-colored, calcareous soils in central Alabama and Mississippi highly adapted to agriculture, especially the growing of cotton.

4. (initial capital letters),  the area of a city or region inhabited primarily by Black people.

black belt

noun

1. martial arts

   1. a black belt worn by an instructor or expert competitor in the dan grades, usually from first to fifth dan

   2. a person entitled to wear this

2. a region of the southern US extending from Georgia across central Alabama and Mississippi, in which the population contains a large number of Black people: also noted for its fertile black soil

Other Word Forms

• black-belt adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of black belt¹

First recorded in 1865–70